Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,740 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,364 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total value of $3,981,938.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,074,330.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $70.52 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $53.21 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.62. The firm has a market cap of $303.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.